Four hundred years before the birth of Jesus, Malachi ends the Old Testament with these words, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” My heart has been turned to my forefathers. I have been actively engaged in family history research since 2007. This body of work is the result of connecting what I have learned to my art making. In breaking away from the standard symbol of a family tree, I have focused upon the rich tradition of Icons and Reliquaries in Medieval Europe. The objects and images chosen are infused with personal and family stories that I have collected. Just as the venerated body parts of saints contained in European reliquaries acted as a conduit to supreme power, the relics I create help me to understand, access, and honor my family roots.
Here is a link to a short video I created, with the assistance of Jason Allred, for Roots Tech 2019. Here I discuss the work I make connected to family history. https://ne-np.facebook.com/CFAC.BYU/videos/2260995930634125/
4th and Cass, Newport, WA
9" x 16" x 2" paper collage on wood panel with found objects - 2020
Pilgrimage to Ancestral Homeland IV: Apple River, WI
24" x 18" x 2.5" Paper collage on wood panel with found objects -2019
4th & Cass
9" x 16" prismacolor on recycled card stock with found objects -2018
This was a demo piece I constructed for the Evening for Educators workshop at Springville Museum of Art Sept. 19, 2018. The text reads:
We built a grand garden that fed us and our herd of rabbits. Only in a small town could I have handed out over 30 rabbit kittens to children on Halloween. Across the street we built the Bauer's pool and through them learned of a church focused on family. With rope and harness, trees and then the rock cliffs of Laclede were scaled and rappelled. Friendships were formed ad welded strong through thrash tag, fly's-up, snowball fights, and a variety of sports. Nightmares of squirming worms, too many perch, and many more of dad's hair brained ideas fade but will never go away. Hope was kindled, crushed, and rekindled. The beginning of an identity was formed and my concept of home solidified. Corner of 4th & Cass Newport, WA 1988-89
Descent to Mortality: Family of Ten
Installation with hammers and plumb bobs
40" square by 8' tall - 2018
Ancestral Reliquary III: Andrew and Anna Ruohonen
30" x 26.5" x 2" paper collage on wood panel with found objects - 2018
Detail of objects
Family Patchwork: Paternal Grandparents
20" x 11" x 2 " paper collage on wood panel with found objects - 2018
Detail of lower panel.
When this panel is lifted up a 'secret' history can be viewed in the form of a genogram tracing the characteristics not usually spoken of, such as abuse and alcoholism, from my grandparents to my children.
Family Homestead III
5" x 5" x 5" cardboard, masking tape, acrylic medium,
astro-turf, plexiglass - 2017
This Piece was made for the Box Show Anderson Art Gallery, Provo City Library Jan-March 2018. This is a model of the home built by my gr-grandfather James Edward Lanegan in Everett, WA 1908
These maguettes are models of homesteads from my family made from cereal boxes and masking tape.e I had always planned on making them on a larger scale in a more permanent material. The response to these pieces in their current state was beyond what I could imagine so I sealed them with an acrylic gel medium to ensure they would not fall apart.
Family Homestead II
3" x 5" x 3.5" cardboard, masking tape, acrylic medium - 2016
Family Homestead I
5" x 4.5" x 4" cardboard, masking tape, acrylic medium - 2016
Homestead Relics II
11.5" x 23" x 2" wood frame with cast figures and cross stitch sampler under glass - 2017
Detail of figures
Homestead Relics
24" x 40" x 1.5" paper collage on wood panel with found objects - 2017
Detail of objects
Pilgrimage to Ancestral Homeland III: Winifred, MT
24" x 24" Paper collage with found objects - 2016
Text on the map reads:
Birth place of grandmother Ethel Maxine Dillon 1916-2006 and father Loron Elihu Lanegan 1939-1999
Pilgrimage to ancestral Homeland I: Inistioge, Ireland
4' x 9' fabric collage and stand 15” x 22” x 36” tall.
Reworked 2017
This is a fabric collage that traces my pilgrimage route from Inistioge to Ballygub Old, Kilkenny, Ireland. Lanigans lived in the area in the early 1700’s, possibly earlier, and many are still there today. On the stand are relics collected during my pilgrimage along with my father’s old bible. My heart has been turned and I seek out opportunities to visit the lands of my forefathers.
Ancestral Reliquary I: Grandpa"s Tools
18" x 28" x 84" tall Reclaimed barn wood and found objects - 2016
The pitch fork in this piece has been used by 4 generations of Lanegans.
Holding Ground
32" x 26" x 60" tall Wood, stone and found objects - 2016
This is a model of the home I
lived in for a few years during high school. The home is a strong symbol of
family values and is regarded as the place where one learns the principles that
form the foundation of life. This piece
is rooted in my personal experience of reaching out to other sources in order
to secure for myself a footing that I could build upon. As a father of five, there are also references
to the contemporary pressures and forces that strive to erode the morals that
form the foundation of home and family.
Ancestral Reliquary II: Sylvina Belle Frohlich
28" x 40" Paper collage with found objects - 2016
This reliquary combines many facets from the life
of Sylvina Belle Frohlich, one of my great grandmothers. She was a strong
woman driven by a faith in God, family and community. After her first
husband died Sylvina took correspondence courses learning to become a
seamstress in order to support her three young children. When her second husband died sewing continued
to be her rock as she supported now five children. The log cabin quilt pattern
(a symbol of warmth, love and security) represents the pioneering spirit that
was at the core of who Sylvina was. Her story inspires me and I hope it will
serve as an example to my four daughters.
A Welding Link
2' x 7' x 7' Mixed Media - 2015
Pilgrimage to Ancestral Homeland II: Ballylanigan, Ireland
20" x 32" Paper collage with soil from the site - 2015
Collection of Laura Lanegan
Text on the piece reads:
Lanegan is an anglicized form of the old Gaelic - O'Lonagain. It is beleived to mean a male descendant of the supplier. The original territory of the O'Lonagains lay in Urmhumhan, an ancient land division comprising much of the modern counties of Kilkenny and Tipperary, Ireland. Ballylanigan, situated near Callan, County Kilkenny, derives its name from this clan.
On Wednesday June 18, 2014 I went to Ballylanigan on pilgrimage. It was a gorgeous summer day. I took a winding course on narrow roads encompassed by vibrant greens and ancient stone walls. I was struck by how rural and peaceful it was, a place where time had seemed to stand still.
The experience was as holy as anything. I ran my hands through the same soil as my forebearers and viewed with my own eyes the scenes that were spread before them. Deep down in a place I cannot fully explain - It felt like a return to home.
Relics from My Childhood Home
16" x 40" Paper Collage with found objects - 2014
Collection of Melanie Allred
This collage is constructed from a panoramic photo of the Darnielle's farm in Arden, Stevens, Washington. This was our neighbor when I was born and I was a farm hand for Jack Darnielle for two summers in the late 1980's
Family History Reliquary
4" x 20" x 16" opened Mixed media - 2014
Detail of relics. Each item has a story and significance. The silver dollar was given to my Grandmother by my grandfather as an engagement token in 1933, the arrowhead was picked up in the plains of Nebraska by my gr-grandmother when she was a child and so on. The items in the jars are collected from my trips to research family history; water and pebbles from a river I camped at, wood fragments from an old family homestead site, a fishing fly tied by my father and used by my brother-in-law to catch our dinner, and the like. The piece was constructed for the show Movement and Meaning: The Power of Pilgrimage.
Panoramic photo taken from the top of Croagh Patrick June 2014
Croagh Patrick Pilgrimage
14" x 42" Paper collage with found objects - 2014
Detail of objects pick up on the trail.
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